One third of School going children suffers terrible lung infections in metros

5/5/2015 6:04:05 PM

Mumbai: More than One third of school-going kids from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore suffer from dreadful lung diseases with children from the national capital topping the charts. Around 35 per cent of school-going children in India suffer from poor lung health, according to a recent study. Pollution is one of the major factors for poor lung health in Indian children said the Heal Foundation as part of ‘Breath Blue 2015’ campaign after conducting a nationwide survey.

HEAL carried out this study over three months in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru. The survey, based on a trial lung health screening test (LHST), which was carried out on 2000 children aged nine to 15 years. The aim was to map the effects of air pollution on breathing capacity of young children.

Mumbai came out on top with 73 percent children showing good lung function. Bangalore children came next at 36 percent, while Kolkata ranked third at 35 percent. Out of the 735 students in New Delhi, 21 percent had 'poor' lung capacity while 19 percent had 'bad' capacity.